Pablo Rodriguez

[The Economy, February 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the minister does not understand that every job loss has an impact on a human being, on that person's spouse and on their children.

This weekend, I was talking to Rosa, a resident of my riding and a very brave woman. She just lost her job. She does not know how to tell her children. She does not even know whether she can collect employment insurance. For her and for so many others, life has come crashing down.

What will the government say to Rosa? Will the employment insurance system be there for her, or will the government continue to restrict access to employment insurance just to save money?

[The Economy, February 9th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, Canada lost 129,000 jobs in January. That is staggering, but we have to look beyond the numbers. Every one of those lost jobs represents a human tragedy.

Recently, in my riding, I met with workers who had invested over 20 years of their lives in the manufacturing sector. They were proud of their work. They had even encouraged their children to pursue the same career. Now, companies are closing and these families have been abandoned. They have nothing left.

How can the government turn its back on these thousands of Canadians and tell them, “Too bad for you, but we have other priorities”?

[Official Languages, February 6th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously on yet another case involving official languages. In the ruling, the court indicated that “the Official Languages Act states that not only must federal services be provided in English and French, but that these services must be of equal quality”.

This ruling will have an enormous impact across the country. The Supreme Court has made it clear that, from now on, when the federal government provides a service—any program, any department—it will have to take the particular needs of the linguistic minority into account.

The important thing here is that the justice quoted part VII of the Official Languages Act, which is now binding. The ruling would not have been possible before Bill S-3 was passed. That happened under a Liberal government. I would therefore like to salute the courage, vision and dedication of former senator Jean-Robert Gauthier, and the force and determination of the minister responsible for official languages at the time, the current member for Ottawa—Vanier, who worked so hard to make the bill a reality.

[Equalization Payments, January 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, when the Prime Minister takes action, he must always keep social peace and national unity in mind. He must never, for personal gain, provoke conflict with the provinces or pit one province against another.

By going back on his word, the Prime Minister did not live up to our expectations of him. The Premier of Newfoundland is talking about a slap in the face while the Premier of Quebec is talking about unilateral federalism.

I want to understand. Insulting premiers, going back on his word and going after certain provinces, is that his idea of open federalism?

[Equalization Payments, January 29th, 2009]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister does not have the reputation of keeping his promises. He has shown that once again, this time on the topic of equalization.

However, he should know that in a federation, he has to create trust and respect his partners. The Prime Minister went back on his word by unilaterally changing the way equalization is calculated.

And so the question is: How can we have confidence in him today or tomorrow when he so easily goes back on his word?

[The Economy, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are suffering because of that party.

What is in their update? Nothing for workers, nothing to stimulate the economy. Why? Because they are amateurs, because they have managed things irresponsibly. It looks as if Gilligan is at the helm of the ship. They have plunged us back into a deficit. They have eliminated our financial cushion. And now all Canadians are paying the price.

Will someone on the other side of the House wake up, someone who has the guts to say that they made a mistake, that they are sorry and that they will change course right now?

[The Economy, November 28th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the government blew a $13 billion surplus and has plunged us back into a deficit. Instead of admitting this, it is trying to hide it. To hide what it has done, the government is going after the less fortunate, attacking the public service, and selling off our assets and heritage at bargain prices. Instead of investing, it is making cuts. This is the opposite of what everyone else in the world is doing.

Will the Conservatives finally acknowledge that they are going in the wrong direction, that this is a mistake and that it needs to change right now?

[Finance, November 20th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, if the past is any indication, let us see where we stand. They started by betraying our forestry workers; they signed a sellout agreement that was a disaster; and members will remember when the Conservatives were boasting about the strength of the dollar, while our paper mills and manufacturing companies were shutting down. Then, they decided to cut subsidies for our artists. Now, shows are being cancelled and jobs have been lost.

So, the question is: what sectors of the economy will they go after now?

[Finance, November 20th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the governments of France, Great Britain, the United States, and even China, did not waste any time when the current crisis began. They quickly took decisive action to safeguard their economy, in order to protect savings and workers. What did our government do? Absolutely nothing. They were asleep at the switch, so to speak.

In the spirit of openness and cooperation, we will give them another chance. Will they introduce a plan now?

[The Environment, June 19th, 2008]

Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are trying to scare Canadians, but fear is the weapon of the weak. It is the chosen weapon of those looking for excuses to justify their inaction. Those who do not have the courage to base their debate on the facts choose to run fear campaigns instead. The facts are these: they have given up on the fight against climate change; they are refusing to acknowledge that we must act now; they are mortgaging our children's and grandchildren's future.

Will the Prime Minister admit that his lack of courage and sincerity will end up costing all Canadians dearly?